


A Hero

by CatrinaSL



Series: Three Things [155]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Australia, Gen, Hero Worship, Macarons, Macaroons, Professor Harry Potter, Stargate, Three Things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 12:18:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14308476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL
Summary: Steve sleeps through a lecture given by the famous Harry Potter and has to hear about it secondhand instead. He wishes he'd been able to go... there was a question he wanted to ask...





	A Hero

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Leeef](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leeef/gifts).



> Leeef prompted Stargate, Macarons, Australia.
> 
> This fic takes place in the same alternate universe as [Inter-House Relations](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13493523).

"How could you?!" Darcy breathed.

Steve shook his head. "I... didn't  _ mean _ to, I just... slept through it. I stayed up late last night studying for Transfiguration. I guess I just needed the sleep."

"Well, you missed the class of the century. Or I guess the class of however long it's been since Dumbledore's Army was a thing," Darcy said, waving her wand to ward off the cold wind that was blowing in over the lake as they hurried down to Herbology. "It's not like Harry Potter's just going to drop in any old day to teach Defense."

"What did he talk about?" Steve asked, through chattering teeth.

"Muggle television," Darcy replied. "Have you ever seen—? Well, I guess you wouldn't have. Apparently he and Ginny Weasley are obsessed with Stargate SG-1. I've never seen it, but it's a teleportation/exploration sci-fi show. Anyway, from the way Harry Potter tells it, it's a lot like that mirror-traveling magic we were doing research on last term, only over much longer distances."

"Was that it?"

"No, he also rambled for a while about the differences between macaroons and macarons—which I honestly didn't follow—and told us about his recent trip to Australia. He was really excited about the fact that their magical beasts are so much more cuddly and friendly than the ones that live around here."

"What, so he didn't take questions about the war or Voldemort or anything?" Steve asked.

Darcy shook her head. "Oh, wait, he  _ did _ say that being a father was harder than anything he'd ever done when he was seventeen, but I don't know if that counts."

Steve frowned.

He pondered his missed opportunity while he tried to listen to the lesson. When they were dismissed to work in pairs, Darcy sidled over to him again.

"I guess," Steve began, whacking the Snargaluff with his trowel, "that he's probably sick of everyone asking him the same thing over and over again. I mean, he and Hermione Granger published that book a few years ago... what was it called?"

"' _Here's What Really Happened: A Harry Potter FAQ_ ,'" she replied.

"Yeah, so I mean—urgh—he'd probably just tell me to buy a copy of that if I asked him..." Steve said as he wrestled the plant.

"Probably," Darcy agreed, and they got back to work.

Steve was still disappointed to have accidentally skipped the lecture, no matter how much Darcy had tried to convince him that he hadn't missed much. Harry Potter may not have been a fan of being famous, but that didn't mean that his fans were just going to stop being eager to meet him.

It wasn't likely that Steve would ever get to meet Harry Potter. Like Darcy said, it wasn't like he was going to drop everything and suddenly start teaching Defense. He  _ had _ missed out.

And he still had that question he wanted to ask.

After dinner, Steve headed up to the faculty lounge to see if he could get some clarification on his Potions homework. The person to open the door to his knock was not the Potions Master but Harry Potter himself.

"Hey there. Who are you looking for?" he asked.

Steve completely ignored the question and blanked on the reason he'd trekked all the way upstairs when confronted with the lightning scar traced across the other man's face, and fumbled out: "What do you think makes someone a hero?"

The hero smiled and waved Steve inside, and Professor Longbottom gave up his chair so that Steve could sit down. He retreated over to the fireplace with a smile; Steve had asked  _ him _ the same question in his first Herbology class as an eleven year old.

"I think a hero is someone who is willing to do good that other people won't," Harry Potter told Steve. "Someone who stands up for those who don't know to stand up for themselves. Someone who is ready to apologize and change when they realize they've done wrong. Someone who makes a different choice after being taught to ridicule and hate their entire lives. Someone who refuses to stop doing the right thing even when it would be easier to give up. That's what makes someone a hero."

Steve stared up at him in awe.

"Does that answer your question?"

Steve nodded.

"Looking for Professor Thorpe, Rogers?" Professor Longbottom asked.

Steve nodded again, trying to regain some composure.

"I believe they said they would be in their office this evening, why don't you try there?"

"Yes—yes sir," Steve said, then turned to Harry Potter. "Thank you... for answering my question. I was meant to be in the lecture you gave today, but I accidentally overslept."

"Been there," Harry Potter replied. "Stayed up late studying? Which subject was it?"

Steve smiled. "Transfiguration."

"Then it was worth it," Harry Potter told him, and grinned back. "That lecture was mostly waffle anyway."

"Well, thank you again," Steve said, a little surprised that Harry Potter reached out to shake his hand as he stood.

"You're welcome. Thank you for your question; I really appreciate that it was different than the questions I usually get."

Steve nodded and backed out of the room, pausing to lean against the wall outside the door to collect himself. He'd met Harry Potter! And he'd got his question answered! It was  _ better _ than going to the lecture would have been! Harry Potter approved of his midday nap!

"Are you going to stop turning down the Defense job now?" he heard Professor Longbottom ask. "You're a natural teacher, Harry. I've known that since we were in fifth year."

Harry Potter chuckled, then sighed. "Fine; tell McGonagall you've finally talked me round. Next year after Ginny and I put Lily on the train to Hogwarts, I'm all yours."

Professor Longbottom let out a triumphant laugh. "You won't regret it," he said. "And I'm sure Rogers will be excited to have been the straw that broke the camel's back."

"Well," the future Professor Potter replied, "if all the students are like him, then it'll be worth it."

Steve rushed off to tell Darcy the news, his Potions homework forgotten.

_ Harry Potter was going to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts! _

**Author's Note:**

> [Prompt a Three Things fic!](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7S2MbkK0CxVHMG3kF8CD6fYqD0zwY-J6MqLb21nmFyRpE4w/viewform)
> 
> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/172904963383/a-hero)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


End file.
